Bucephalus outwits the Cisco Kid; wrapping it up and packing it in

The Silk Road Adventure -- this is the second last "blog" entry from Dan Moore's road trip, in which we learn that Bucephalus will not be euthanized. The bikes are now on their way back to the States. Hurry and read this one before it disappears into that aggravating *.PDF archive.

The problems with Bucephalus (my motorcycle, named after Alexander the Great’s horse) intensified two days before the end of the riding part of our trip. It had been running well for more than two weeks with the automobile fuel pump. But on the way to Pingliang it stopped running. Fortunately, Dennis, one of our group who is an electrical engineer at Cisco (the Cisco Kid), developed a way to jump the fuel pump directly off the battery, so that the fuel pump would run regardless of an electrical fault somewhere else. It worked for one hour, and then on a steep hill, it stopped running even though the fuel pump was getting fuel. This time we had no answers, and it looked like we would have to call the chase vehicle to carry Bucephalus the rest of the way. There were steep cliffs all around, and there was a discussion of euthanasia, but I would have no part of it – Bucephalus and I are bonded.

rethinking blogging logistics

The Travels of Dan Moore, III -- Perhaps posting to a draft, having the pit crew edit, and then publishing final would work better, in conjunction with links to inimitable-Dan podcasts.

"The Internet has been a great disappointment. I planned to dictate blogs on my digital recorder, send the digital file to the office via email for transcription, and then review the written version myself via email. The crew at my office would do a final edit to add the right tone and a little humor, and then post the blog to the net. As it turns out, I have only been able to dictate sporadically over the phone, and Carolyn, Nancy and Laura have carried the main transcription, editing, and posting burden. DTMCo may have the only “blog pit crew” in town that can correctly spell the names of the central Asian republics, their capitals, their leaders, and the premiere resorts and hotels. Many thanks to my blog pit crew for keeping the site running.

"Today in Kazakhstan, I have finally been able to access the Internet. Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are apparently frightened of widespread use of the Internet. Azerbaijan is too slow, and in Georgia it worked occasionally. Next trip I will have a SAT phone system that is entirely independent of internet access. "

gas at 10 cents a gallon, with drugs, meditation, and long motorcycle rides to quiet the inner voices

The Travels of Dan Moore, III -- Dan has another installment on his motorcycle road trip, and there's some really good stuff there. It's frustrating when it all cycles into a *.PDF link on the arrival of the next installment.

I wish somebody had set him up right on his "blog" before he left; a true blog format, as opposed to a pseudo-blog web-page format has a dynamism that survives and endures long after the journey is past.

Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership does wi-fi

Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership now offers free wi-fi downtown for up to 2 hours daily. The annual rates at $120 for unlimited access aren't bad if you live or work there, either. How soon will we have similar service in Cleveland+? Why don't we have it now?

not easily intimidated

The Courier News :: News :: Elderly tourist slays mugger with bare hands--Here's a heartening tale of stand-up conduct.

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica -- An American senior citizen killed an alleged mugger with his bare hands, and his traveling companions aboard a tour bus fended off two other assailants in the Atlantic coast city of Limon, police said.
The American, who is about 70 years old and retired from the military, put the 20-year-old in a head lock and broke his clavicle after the suspect and two other men armed with a knife and gun held up their tour bus, said Luis Hernandez, the police chief of Limon, 80 miles east of San Jose. The suspect, Warner Segura, later was declared dead, apparently from asphyxiation.
The two other men fled when the 12 senior citizens started defending themselves during the Wednesday attack.
Afterward, the tourists drove Segura to the Red Cross, where he was declared dead. The Red Cross also treated one of the tourists for an anxiety attack, Hernandez said Thursday.
The tourists left on their Carnival cruise ship after the incident, and Hernandez said authorities do not plan to press charges against them.
"They were in their right to defend themselves after being held up," he said.